CBI Registers Cases Against Lalu and Family Following Raids On Their Residences

Cases have been booked against Lalu, his wife Rabri, and son, Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister, over acquisition of three acres of land in Patna. As then Railways Minister, Lalu is accused of granting “illegal favours” to a privately owned company in lieu of this land.

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered cases against former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Lalu’s son, Tejashwi Yadav, following raids on their residences.

The cases were booked in connection with alleged irregularities in leasing two railway hotels to a private company when Lalu was the Railways Minister. Raids were conducted by CBI on at least a dozen locations, including residences of Lalu Yadav and his family members, in Delhi, Gurugram, Patna, Ranchi and Bhubaneswar.

Former IRCTC Managing Director PK Goyal and the wife of Lalu’s confidante, Prem Chand Gupta, have also been also booked by the CBI.

Providing details, CBI Additional Director Rakesh Asthana on Friday stated that Lalu Yadav had granted illegal favours to privately owned Sujata Hotel through the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) when he was the Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009. The tender process was allegedly manipulated to favour the private company “in exchange of three-acre land in Patna, where a mall is being built now,” Asthana disclosed.

The land in western Patna was first said to have been transferred by Delight Marketing Company Pvt. Ltd. It was then again transferred to another company owned by the Yadav family’s Lara Projects “at a very low cost”, according to the CBI Additional Director.

Cases have been registered under Sections 420, 120 B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 13 and 13 1 B of Prevention of Corruption Act.

Lalu Cries Foul

Responding to raids on his family residences, the Rashtriya Janata Dala (RJD) chief called it a political conspiracy because he had not done anything wrong. He alleged that he and his family members were being targeted to force them to bow down before the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

“I don’t mind being reduced to ashes, but I will see to it that Modi Administration is removed for good,” he asserted.

Incidentally, Lalu was speaking to the media on Friday after appearing in the fodder scam case at the Ranchi Court. He hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ruling BJP over the CBI raids. Accusing CBI of working at the behest of the Modi Government, Lalu said, “I told my wife and children to make CBI officials comfortable. It (the raid) is not their fault.”

He asserted that such raids were an act of vengeance as he and his party were trying to unite all other likeminded opposition parties to oust the Modi Government. He announced that he will organise a rally to inform the people how he and his children are being attacked with political vendetta.